


Arrested

by theonewiththeeyebrows



Series: Melissa McCall and Sheriff Stilinski are Bros [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Friendship, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-03
Updated: 2012-08-03
Packaged: 2017-11-11 07:20:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/476014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theonewiththeeyebrows/pseuds/theonewiththeeyebrows
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scott & Stiles get arrested. The Sheriff & Melissa talk.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Arrested

It starts off with small things- a note from a teacher, a detention, a call from the principal's office, and it keeps getting bigger. The Sheriff doesn't know why they do what they do and he's practically raised Scott as his own, so he knows that Scott- well, he is a bit of a potato, and he'll do pretty much anything that Stiles tells him to. In a way he's glad that Stiles has Scott, but at the same time, he can't help but miss his wife. _Alice would have known what to do, what to say, how to say it. She'd know how to be a parent._

Sometimes the Sheriff will sit at the dinner table, three fingers of scotch in the glass by his plate, with Stiles sitting beside him, a reprimanded and yet still somehow smug look on his face, and he'll sigh, a great big, heavy sigh, before telling Stiles to go up to his room and do his homework. 

The Sheriff learned a long time ago that grounding Stiles never worked. The first and only time he'd done it, Stiles had been eleven and the principal had caught him making slime in the chemistry lab unsupervised, there had been an explosion involved. When he'd gone to check on Stiles a few hours into his grounding, he had found a ladder made from bedsheets and pillow-covers tied to one end of Stiles' bed and no Stiles anywhere to be found. He and Melissa had searched frantically for Stiles that evening, and eventually found him in the ruins of the Hale house, covered in soot and crying. Stiles had gone home with Melissa that night because they knew that Scott could comfort him in a way that the Sheriff couldn't. That night he finished half a bottle of scotch and clutched his wife's photograph and cried himself to sleep.

So when he gets the call on his radio, he's furious. When he walks into the station, both Scott and Stiles jump up from the bench. Stiles has his arms out in front of him. "I know what you're thinking, Dad! And you're wrong. Also, it isn't Scott's fault."

"Oh, I'm well aware of how much it isn't Scott's fault" the Sheriff grits out, face red from anger.

"Oh." Stiles' deflates a bit, arms falling down in front of him. "I swear it won't happen again."

The Sheriff unlocks the handcuffs around Scott's wrists, and as he unlocks the cuffs around Stiles' wrists, he smiles sympathetically at the boy and says, "Scott, go home. You're mom's probably worried sick. I'll swing by later today and visit. Stiles, go sit in my office." Stiles opens his mouth to protest. "No Buts! Office, Now!" 

The Sheriff brings Stiles' file into the office with him. "What is wrong with you?" Stiles scuffs his shoe against the floor, his cheeks are flushed but he refuses to look at his father. "What have I done to deserve this, Stiles? I'm the Sheriff! You can't go around getting into trouble. You showed up at a bakery fire! Really? How the hell did you even find out about it?" Stiles mumbles a response. 

"What was that? I couldn't hear you over the cotton balls you've stuffed in your mouth!" The Sheriff puts his hands on his hips and raises an eyebrow at Stiles.

"I fixed your old police scanner." His voice is small and barely audible, but the Sheriff looks at him incredulously.

"You did _what_?" he yells. "How could you be so stupid, Stiles? What if this was something worse? What if you or Scott had been seriously injured? Did you think about that? You got him arrested today! How- How am I going to go face Melissa?" Stiles' mouth shifts and he leans into the wall and folds his arms over his chest, his eyes turn suspiciously glassy and the anger leaves the Sheriff just as quickly as it had come on. "Oh, hell! What am I doing?" He runs his hands down his face and sighs. "You're mother would be so much better at this than I am." Stiles flinches when the Sheriff moves closer, making him frown, but then he's hugging Stiles. "I'm sorry, son. I just- I can't imagine what I'd do if you got hurt. I can't imagine- if I lost you too, I'd have nothing." He's clutching Stiles' sweatshirt tightly in his fist and he can feel Stiles' own shuddered crying against his shoulder. 

*

"They're just being boys, Stan!" Melissa exclaims, one hand on her hip and a rolling pin making dramatic arcs as she talks. "Don't you remember being their age and doing stupid shit?"

"Yeah. But I never got myself arrested for meddling in an ongoing investigation!" The Sheriff craddles his head in his hands. "And he got Scott arrested! How are you not angry about this?"

"Because it is Stiles!" Melissa exclaims like that means something. "Stiles is a lot of things- he's hyperactive and he can be manipulative like the best of them, but he's also incredibly intelligent and can talk about anything given the right motivation. And he's always got question marks in his eyes, and you want to encourage that curiosity. Whenever Scott looks at the neighbor's dog, he gets the same look Stiles does when he's trying to solve a puzzle. So I encourage it. I even talked to Dr. Deaton over at the shelter to see if he could mentor Scott next summer!" 

"Why couldn't my son have regular interests like yours?" The Sheriff sighs and Melissa gives him an indulgent smile. "I just- sometimes I can't help but wonder if I'm doing a bad job of raising him. Alice was so good at being a mom, you know? She knew exactly what to do and how to do it." 

"Oh, shush. You're a great dad, Stan. You're the best father anyone could ask for. You're a better father to my son than his own father!" Melissa smiles at him sadly. "Who takes their friend's son or their son's best friend on a father-son fishing trip? Who talks to their friend's son about awkward boy things that he wouldn't feel comfortable talking to his single mom about? Don't sell yourself short. You're a great person... And stop whining. Nobody's going to want to tap that ass if you're always whining like a girl!"

"Tap that ass?" The Sheriff asks, one eyebrow raised, "really? Also. It's too soon, Mel." 

"Stan! It's been seven years!"

"Yeah, well I don't see you dating anyone either." The Sheriff suppresses the urge to stick his tongue out at Melissa, instead reaching out to hold her hand.

"Well, if you must know, I have a date tomorrow night and Scott's staying over with you boys." Melissa grins at the Sheriff before squeezing his hand. "And I know, I miss her too, but you can't be alone forever, eventually, even Stiles is going to grow up, go to college and have his own life. Nobody will judge you if you decide to date." 

"I know. But she was it for me. My soul-mate, you know? I think it would be a disservice to anyone I dated because they'd still always be in third place... if not fifth place," the Sheriff raises an eyebrow and looks at Melissa, "in my life."

"Are you telling me you're in love with me, Stan?" Melissa jokes, pulling a laugh out of him. "I know what you mean though. You guys- Scott, Stiles and you, you're my family. My everything, and anyone else would always be second place to that." Stan pulls her into his arms, pressing a kiss into her curly hair.

"I'm so glad you're in my life, Mel. I'd be such a wreck without you. Thank you."


End file.
